Round Hill Asset Management Boosts Stock Holdings in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

by · The Markets Daily

Round Hill Asset Management grew its position in shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 0.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 24,018 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the quarter. Discover Financial Services accounts for approximately 2.2% of Round Hill Asset Management’s portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest holding. Round Hill Asset Management’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $3,369,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. National Pension Service raised its stake in Discover Financial Services by 14.8% in the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 439,756 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $61,693,000 after acquiring an additional 56,814 shares during the period. Gabelli Funds LLC bought a new stake in Discover Financial Services in the 1st quarter valued at about $983,000. William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. bought a new stake in Discover Financial Services in the 2nd quarter valued at about $4,835,000. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC bought a new stake in Discover Financial Services in the 3rd quarter valued at about $2,415,000. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its stake in Discover Financial Services by 61.0% in the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 62,529 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $8,197,000 after acquiring an additional 23,702 shares during the period. 86.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Discover Financial Services Stock Performance

Shares of DFS stock opened at $179.29 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $152.29 and a 200 day moving average of $137.73. Discover Financial Services has a 52 week low of $85.19 and a 52 week high of $188.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.47, a PEG ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $3.69 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.28 by $0.41. Discover Financial Services had a return on equity of 21.38% and a net margin of 13.78%. The company had revenue of $5.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.36 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.59 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Discover Financial Services will post 13.34 earnings per share for the current year.

Discover Financial Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 5th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be given a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.60%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on DFS shares. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $156.00 to $163.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. StockNews.com lowered Discover Financial Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Discover Financial Services from $152.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Discover Financial Services from $148.00 to $161.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $138.81.

Read Our Latest Report on Discover Financial Services

Discover Financial Services Company Profile

(Free Report)

Discover Financial Services, through its subsidiaries, provides digital banking products and services, and payment services in the United States. It operates in two segments, Digital Banking and Payment Services. The Digital Banking segment offers Discover-branded credit cards to individuals; personal loans, home loans, and other consumer lending; and direct-to-consumer deposit products comprising savings accounts, certificates of deposit, money market accounts, IRA certificates of deposit, IRA savings accounts and checking accounts, and sweep accounts.

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